Fall Big Backyard Walk - Lexington Public Schools

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$Course Syllabus and Expectations Math 2$

OBJECTIVES: KINDERGARTEN FALL NATURE WALK OVERVIEW Plants and Seasonal Changes • Explore the schoolyard by looking, listening, smelling, and touching. • Observe and share signs of seasonal change in plants. • Identify plant parts. • Make comparisons, note similarities and differences. PREPARATION: Kindergarten Fall • Schedule walk from mid-September to early October. • Walk should last about 30 minutes. • Schedule walk first thing in the morning before other classes come out for recess. MATERIALS: • Bug box (for the unexpected discovery). • String circles, one per two students. • Trowel. • Hand lenses (1 for each child). • Plastic bags for leaf and/or seed collections* (one per group). • Clipboard, pencil. • Signs of Fall Walk Report ACTIVITIES: • Close eyes. What can you hear, smell, and touch? • Discuss fall and compare with memories of summer. • Big Backyard walk leader fills out Signs of Fall Walk Report during the walk. • Examine and collect* leaves in string circles. • Dig up a plant and examine plant parts (roots, stem, leaves, and if possible, flowers, and seeds). • Observe similarities and differences in fallen leaves. • Find and collect* dried seeds and seedpods. • Compare needles of red and white pines. *Consult with the teacher about collecting material for the classroom 2
Kindergarten Fall PRE-WALK ACTIVITIES: TO BE LED BY THE TEACHER 1. Ask the class: Who likes to explore and discover outdoors? Why? This year you will go on some nature walks outside in the “Big Backyard” of our school. How do we learn about nature outdoors? By using our eyes, ears, noses, and hands we can notice changes in our schoolyard. We can try to figure out what is happening to the plants and animals that live here. Ask: How do scientists learn about nature? The same way we do. They use their senses. They observe things very carefully. They compare things and look for changes. Then they try to figure out why things are happening and how nature works. 2. Tell children that they will soon go on a nature walk outside the school with a parent volunteer. They will be nature scientists as they look carefully at plants and other interesting things outside, just like a nature scientist does. (Optional) Scientists also sometimes collect things to bring back to their laboratories to study further. Scientists are careful that what they collect doesn't harm the plants and animals they study. Each group will collect a few interesting leaf discoveries to bring back to the classroom. Groups may also find seeds or dried seed pods to bring back for later exploration in the classroom. We can look for fluffy milkweed seeds, acorns, burrs, hickory nuts, pine cones, etc. Acorn Burrs Hickory nut Ask: Who can remember how the schoolyard looked the first day of school? What color were the trees and plants? How have things changed? (leaf color, less sunlight, cooler). How might these affect the plants and animals outside the school? 3. Have each child think about what a plant looks like, and draw a picture of a plant. (Draw another picture after returning from the walk.) 4. Discuss how the children need to behave if they want to discover things about nature in their schoolyard. Let children tell you that they need to move slowly and quietly so that animals are not scared away. They also need to stay close together and near the leader so they can share their discoveries. You may want to suggest a “follow the leader” rule (where the Big Backyard volunteer is the leader). Remind children that looking closely and wondering about what they see is what nature scientists do. 3
Page 1: Kindergarten walks are based on: 1.
Page 5 and 6: Plantain Dandelion seed Kindergarte
Page 7 and 8: 5. Pine trees Kindergarten Fall •
Page 9 and 10: DO YOU KNOW THE PARTS OF PLANTS? (S
Page 11 and 12: NATURE WALK REPORT Walk Leader:____

Fall Big Backyard Walk - Lexington Public Schools

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